Professional courses are a good way to gain the necessary qualifications that you need to fill certain executive roles.

These courses are more flexible than degree programmes and they tend to boost your chances of employment as well as help you climb up the professional ladder.

In this post, you’ll get to know some of these short professional courses and the institutions that administer the certification exams.

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)

If you’re looking to become a professional accountant in Nigeria, taking the ICAN exam is certainly the way to go.

The institute that administers the exam is ICAN and it was established to continually enhance the ethical standards and technical competence for the interest of the public. And the exam has been set up to produce world-class chartered accountants that will add value to various sectors of the economy.

ICAN was established in 1965 by the Act of Parliament No. 15 of that same year with the following objectives:

to determine the standards of knowledge and skill persons seeking to become members of the accountancy profession should attain and to raise the standards from time to time as circumstances may permit;

to secure the establishment and maintenance of the registers of fellows, associates and registered accountants entitled to practise as accountants and auditors and to publish at intervals a list of these persons;

to perform through the Council of the Institute, all other functions conferred on it by the Act.

ICAN is not only the foremost accounting body in Nigeria, it is also the foremost professional accounting body in the West African sub-region.

Over the years, ICAN has certified close to 40,000 chartered accountants that have taken up professional roles in the various sectors of the Nigerian economy and beyond.

You can visit the official ICAN website for more information on the examination and the fees you’ll need to pay.

Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria

The CITN offers the MPTP certificate which was launched on the 4th of February, 1982.

This course provides professional credibility to graduates that are involved in the taxation industry.

The institute, CITN became chartered when the Federal Government enabled the Act No. 76 of 1992 (now CITN Act, CAP C10, Vol. 2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004).

CITN is involved in standardizing the knowledge and skills of individuals seeking to become professional tax practitioners or administrators and was set up with the following objectives:

To determine the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the taxation profession.

To raise, maintain and regulate the standard of taxation practice amongst its members.

To promote professional ethics and efficiency in tax administration and practice.

To encourage, promote and co-ordinate research for the advancement of taxation practice and administration in Nigeria.

If you’re looking at a career in the taxation industry, the CITN is the only professional body that you need to register with. Once you become a member of CITN, you can practice as a taxation professional anywhere in the country.

Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria

If you’re a banker with intentions of staying in the banking industry for as long as possible, the CIBN certification will certainly help your portfolio.

One of the major objectives of CIBN is to maintain professional excellence in the banking industry in the country.

The history of CIBN can be traced to November 28, 1963 when 124 bankers assembled at the Randle Hall in Surulere, Lagos and passed a resolution to establish a local centre of the Institute of Bankers in London. The objective of this centre was to promote banking education in the country particularly among professional bankers.

Thirteen years later, this institute was registered as the Nigerian Institute of Bankers and by 1977; the CITN had become operational and autonomous.

The vision of the CITN is to become a global reference point for professionalism and ethics in the banking and finance industry through thought leadership and capacity building.

Determining the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the banking profession;

Securing in accordance the provisions of this act, the establishment and maintenance of a register of members of the banking profession in the categories of ordinary members, student members, graduate members, associates, honorary senior members, honorary fellow and fellows of the Institute and a register of corporate members;

Conducting professional examinations leading to the awards of certificates as may be prescribed by the Institute; and

Ensuring the furtherance, maintenance and observance of ethical standards and professionalism among practitioners of the banking profession in Nigeria

You can visit the CIBN website to begin the membership application process, part of which involves taking the CIBN exam.

Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers

The NIESV is responsible for ensuring a high standard of professional conduct and practice among estate valuers and surveyors in the country.

To become a certified member of this institute, all estate surveyors and valuers are expected to take the certification exam.

These are the objectives of the NIESV:

To establish a high and reputable standard of professional conduct and practice in the landed profession throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

To secure and improve the technical knowledge which constitutes land economy including Valuation or Appraisal of Real Estate and such fixtures and fittings thereto including plant and machinery; Land Management and Development Investment and Town Planning and to facilitate the acquisition of such knowledge by working in close collaboration with Universities, Institutions of Higher learning and other professional bodies;

To promote the general interests of the profession and to maintain and extend its usefulness for the public good by advising members of the public. Government departments, Statutory Bodies, Local Governments, Association, Institutions and such like bodies on all matters coming within the scope of the profession and to initiate and consider any legislation relevant to the objects of the Institution;

To endeavour to acquaint the public with the role of the Estate of the Surveyor and valuer in the economic development of the country.

The office of the NIESV is located at the Bazzan Plaza in Abuja. You can visit their official website to find out more on the process of enrolling and taking the NIESV exams.

Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN)

ANAN is a chartered professional accountancy body that is responsible for teaching and examining accounting students.

The association was formed on the 1st of January, 1979 and was officially incorporated in 1983. The body gained chartered status when the decree 76 of 1993 was enabled by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The association is 100% homegrown professional body that offers a community based approach to the accountancy standards and practices.

The vision of ANAN is to become the premium brand of choice in professional accounting practice in Nigeria and to impact an accounting education and practice in a comprehensive way.

Becoming a member of ANAN is open to all accountancy graduates (B.Sc. and HND). You can also apply if you’ve had your accountancy education and qualifications abroad. As a graduate, you can become certified once you enrol and commence the three year training programme with ANAN. At the end of the training programme, you will earn the designation of Certified National Accountant.

The ANAN examination consists of 5 papers at Professional Examinations A1 (PEA) and 6 papers at Professional Examination B1 (PEB). Prior to the exmaination, all students must attend the Nigerian College of Accountancy in Jos in preparation for the examination.

If you’d like to know more about the ANAN prospectus and examination syllabus, you can visit this link.

Business Education Exams Council

This is highly relevant if you’re an entrepreneur or business owner. BEEC is one of the leading management development and staff training organizations in Nigeria and Africa.

The BEEC courses have been designed to meet the needs of both executives and staff.

The courses are usually held accross major cities in Nigeria and Africa. BEEC is accredited by the Federal Government of Nigeria as a training provider.

The council also works closely with prestigious business schools and professional organizations across the world. One of these is the Management School London.

The training programmes designed by BEEC have been adopted by leading multinationals, banks, as well as federal state and local government parastatals.

The courses are usually in the form of formal lectures delivered by experienced and practical oriented consultants, Chief Executives and top executives. Their trainings are usually supplemented with case studies, syndicate work, group discussion, business games, video presentaton. The courses usually start at 9a.m and 5p.m.

BEEC specializes in the provision of management and secretarial training and their programmes are used by many organizations in the African continent as the benchmark for quality training.

Centre for Law and Business

With the goal of achieving excellence in law and business, the Centre for Law and Business was established as a centre for learning, teaching, studying, practicing, legislating, appreciation and implementation of law and law related issues, as well as in business, management, leadership and good governance.

CLB offers several intellectual products and services which provides learning, teaching and tutorials for both academic and professional training programmes.

The centre is associated with the prestigious University of London as well as the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants.

The CLB intellectual products and facilities provide value to the various segments of society.

Overall, CLB offers both academic and professional programmes; you can visit their website for more information

Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria

With new pension management firms springing up each day, charting a career in this industry can be quite an interesting one.

The CPIN is a national institute responsible for the training and retraining of pension practitioners in the country.

The institute was established with the goal of uniting the professional benefit adminstators and other interested parties in order to encourage greater dialogue, cooperation and educational opportunities.

CPIN also improves the quality and efficiency for pension administration in the country.

Overall, these are the objectives of CPIN:

Designing distinctive programmes which are relevant, contemporary and proactive

The examination is usually written twice a year. You have to register on their website before you’re allowed to take the exam. You can visit this link for more information

Chartered Institute of Marketing of Nigeria

CIMN is the foremost body in the country for marketers. If you’re a marketer and you want to move up the ladder in your career, then you should be a member of this Institute.

The institute provides a certificate which is given after successfully completing the CIMN examination.

The vision of the institute is to be the engine room of value creation for consumer empowerment and society’s development.

Some of courses offered by the Institute of Marketing include:

Professional Foundation Certificate in Marketing

Certificate in Marketing

Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing

You can visit the certification page of the National Institute of Marketing in Nigeria (NIMN) for more information.

Chartered Institute of Personnel Management

If you’re interested in becoming a personnel manager, CIPM is the way to go. The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management in Nigeria was initially established as an umbrella Association of the Practitioners of Personnel Management in 1968. At that time, it was named the Personnel Management Association of Nigeria. It was renamed in 1973 and the institute became chartered in 1992 when the Act No 58 of 1992 was enabled by the Federal Government of Nigeria

The vision of the institute is to become a foremost people management institute in Africa that is well respected all over the world.

You can visit the CIPM website for more information on the qualifying exam.